Opinion: Donald Trump's angle of incidence dangerously acute

This year’s oblique U.S. presidential campaign has been as much about new levels of political depravity as an old lesson in the laws of physics.

Whether in a physics lab or the political arena, angles matter. Or, as we learned in high school, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.

My first awareness of the laws of physics came at an airshow back in the late 1960s when my father was in the Air Force and our family was stationed at Camp Borden, a base north of Toronto.

I was about seven or eight, an age and a time when children were allowed to make their way around airshows or other public spectacles on their own, meeting an adult later to usher us home.

I watched a man die that day. They say he burned to death. I didn’t watch that part.

This was not one of those dramatic end-of-show highlight moments. As I recall, most people were wandering the tarmac, talking with Vietnam veterans at static displays, inspecting vintage aircraft on the ground and gazing at performances overhead. The high-octane events were still to come.

But I happened to be watching at the fiery moment, standing at a point almost perpendicular to the runway where the small plane made uncontrolled contact with the ground.

That’s when I observed how angles of incidence equal angles of reflection. It was a lesson seared by flames, panic, sirens and silence.

That pilot, likely an experienced one, made the fatal miscalculation of coming in too fast at too sharp an angle. I suspect it was a mistake, not recklessness, that killed him. He didn’t injure any spectators or bystanders. There was no permanent damage to the runway, infrastructure or operation of the airport. The show did, as they say, eventually go on.

With only a few days remaining in the spectacle of the U.S. election, we now know that Donald Trump has only one “angle” to his daredevil campaign as it makes its final approach to Nov. 8.

Trump’s angle of incidence to election day, as his campaign continues to jettison all manner of civility, sanity and humanity, is dangerously and destructively acute.

His zero-degree nosedive is locked in — zero degree of self-restraint, zero degree of tolerance, zero degree of dignity. Never mind, at this point, how he managed to commandeer this election for so long without anything resembling certifiable skills. It’s now time to grab the kids and get clear of the crash zone.

Hillary Clinton, in contrast, has been more like a thin stone that’s been skipping across the political surface for decades — propelled by enough financial velocity to get airborne time and again.

Unlike Trump, her political angle has been so shallow for so long she can only hope enough voters hold their stomachs about her turbulent character. None of us know how many skips are in us, but she’ll likely submerge into the pond of past presidents after one term in office.

Unlike Clinton, Trump’s desire to “govern the nation” or “serve others” was never expressed or revealed during the campaign. His angle was simply to attack. His attack on opponents, allies, even his own ghosts and skeletons were interchangeable. But his lasting legacy will be his retched and seething attack upon the very integrity of all Americans.

And now he has reached terminal velocity. There is no pulling back the stick for Trump. His intent, perhaps since the beginning, was never to win the presidency. It was to be the star and producer of his own show. Now, he has a finale that will be as dark, but not as funny, as the final apocalyptic scene from “Dr. Strangelove”, when the character played by Slim Pickens literally “rides the bomb” to its target.

Unlike the doomed pilot of my youth, Trump has purposely miscalculated his speed and angle of attack for maximum destruction. His is not a naïve mistake, but experienced recklessness. He plans to and will take out even more innocent spectators and bystanders with his petulant “rigged election” nonsense. There will be permanent damage not only to the Republican Party but the rest of the country’s political and psychological infrastructure.

For now, we can only wonder if Trump’s show, despite his inevitable flameout, will go on. But over time, the acute “incident” called Donald Trump will require equal and sharp reflection.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.